1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reagent for quantitative analysis of neutral lipids and lecithin in serum or internal organs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, the determination of the content of neutral lipids and phospholipids, especially lecithin, in serum or internal organs has always included clinical examination of lipid metabolism or biological experiments and tests.
The conventional methods for carrying out these determinations have not been satisfying because they comprise a series of extremely complicated processes often requiring manual operations consisting of extraction, elimination of phospholipids, saponification and elimination of protein. For quantitative analysis of phospholipids such as lecithin, there has been generally adopted the so-called wet ash process which comprises treatment with a strong acid and an oxidizing agent at an elevated temperature. However, this process suffers from several serious disadvantages because it requires drastic conditions and troublesome operations as well as a long time for completion. Furthermore, the selective determination of lecithin is impossible using the conventional process. Consequently, it would be most desirable to have a quantitative technique for selective determination of lecithin content which is free from the disadvantages of the prior art processes.